YHS: INTO DARKNESS

Cast List:

Mr. Graves - Ryan Joseph Murphy Abby: Krista Amigone

Wyatt: Bob Daniel

Written by Naomi Richards

COLD OPEN

MR. GRAVES: If you’ve stumbled onto this station, don’t attempt to adjust your device. Door creaks, wolf howls and the terror of silence echo throughout the night. This is the program that will send chills down your spine. Step right up and listen in because your horror show is about to begin.

MR. GRAVES: Aum, Aum. Breathe in, breathe out. Inhale the stress and exhale the death. Greetings my morbid meditators, your host Mr. Graves is taking some time to recalibrate his mental and physical state. Even in the underworld, we must be one with our surroundings. Which reminds me that our episode today deals with disgusting sounds, and claustrophobia. Listener discretion is advised. One way many people say to decompress is to go outside and interact with nature. We’ve seen stories of the forest that prey on our fears. Watchers in the woods, monsters lurking in trees and witches hiding in cabins. What happens when our need to explore the greenery turns into a face to face meeting with danger? Open your mind for our next tale called, “Into Darkness”.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Where the hell are you?”

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Ah-ha! I found you, little bastard. (NARRATION) My stomach gurgles in frustration as my clumsy fingers rip at the protein bar wrapper. Long hikes are the best but today I’m just hungrier than normal.

ABBY (JUMPING): UGH! (NARRATION) A wisp of a man stands on the trail behind me. Under normal circumstances, finding another hiker on a trail is a welcome reprieve. Sharing the wilderness with another nature enthusiast only hardens my own passions for the wonders surrounding us. However, this is not a normal circumstance. In the dimming light, the man’s pupils are blown to the rim, his hands spasming and flexing sporadically into claws. His long white hair is a least a month’s wash past due, judging by the leaves and matted clumps riddling every strand.

WYATT: The park is no place to be after dark.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) I have a flashlight in case it gets dark, thanks. (NARRATION) The man takes a step forward along with the breeze. It wafts his scent to me and I suppress retching my lunch into the bush next to me.

WYATT: It’s not safe after dark. Come with me now. I’ll make sure you’re safe.

ABBY: Look, I don’t know what you’re on, buddy. But I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Modern woman and all. (NARRATION) The man shakes his head, bits of dirt and tree bark sprinkling onto the ground with his movements.

WYATT: No-no-no, that won’t do. The woods are old with old things in it. You’ll come with me now. It’s not safe.

ABBY (NARRATION): In a rush, the man lunges for my arm, but his hands are slick with sweat and I dislodge them easily. With a battle cry, “HAA!”

<KICK>

ABBY: (NARRATION) I kick my knee up, my cap connecting with the precious soft flesh of his manhood (SPEAKING) Get the fuck off me!

WYATT (YELLING): Ah! My fucking dick!

ABBY (NARRATION): I shove him over as he wails and sprint up the trail, my arms pumping hard as if they’ll spread into wings to carry me away.

WYATT (FADED YELLING): NO! You’re going the wrong way! It’s not safe! The woods aren’t safe!

ABBY: (NARRATION) His voice faded out into the distance as my feet continued to pick up pace. As I ran further through the forest, the sun’s rays slowly went down towards the trees around me.

ABBY: (NARRATION) The man’s agonized cries follow behind, but I don’t dare to look behind me. My oasis dissolves into a tyrannical nightmare. As the sun disappears further, sweet vines transform into lethal snares. Tree limbs morph from vibrant friends to cackling foes. I dodge around them all, my heart thudding acutely with each step. I turn the bend in the trail, my steps slowing to a labored walk. (SPEAKING, BREATHLESS): Shit…I have to be out of range now. Crazy old creep. (NARRATION) I lean against a tree, my breathing coming in quick hiccups. Just what the hell was that all about? I’ve run into weirdos in the past, but this is on another level.

WYATT: Girl! Girl where are you! Come with me! It’s not safe in these woods! GIRL!

ABBY: (NARRATION) My heart surges at the sound of the man’s voice. My feet are moving before I command them; my flight renewed. The man's voice pings from tree to tree, filling the forest around me. I have no idea where he could be, but I know I don’t want him finding me. Every nightmarish scenario imaginable filters against my mind in the fading light. I refuse to be a victim. I scan the forest trying to find a place to hide. (SPEAKING) Yes! (NARRATION) My eyes lock on an opening about twenty feet uphill. A cave mouth? Either way, it has to be better than waiting for him to find me in the open.

ABBY: (NARRATION) My legs burn with each vault up the steep hillside. My legs threatening to buckle as the mouth is only a few inches taller than my frame. Large stalactites jet from the ground like a yawning maw. I skid past them, falling to my knees in my scramble. Bits of rocks and hard earth lash at my palms. I don’t flinch from the pain, too focused on making it further inside the safety of the cave. My harsh breath presses against me so I cover my mouth to muffle the sound.

(SPEAKING QUIETLY) Please don’t find me. Please don’t find me.

WYATT: Girl! Girl, are you in there!

ABBY: (NARRATION) The man’s outline moves in front of the cave mouth and I stifle a scream. He hunches down peering into the void of the cave, scanning every available nook for my outline. I don’t wait for him to move closer, I bolt down the throat of the cave.

WYATT: Stop! It’s dangerous. Come out of there. You have to believe me! You’ll die in there! Stop!

ABBY: (NARRATION) The man’s words fade behind me, but their warning rings through every cell in my body. I’ll die here? Not by his hands, that’s for damn sure. Just because I’m a female and hiking alone, doesn’t mean I’m unprepared to deal with threats.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Okay, I think I lost him. (NARRATION) Slowly, the light from the mouth of the cave winks out. I stop once the tip of my nose disappears, my hands groping for the wall for guidance. My hands graze the slick wall face and I use it to guide myself into a crotch.

ABBY (NARRATION) With quiet persuasion, I unzip my bag fishing out my flashlight. I don’t want to give him my location just yet. But it’s better to be prepared than not. Instead, I lean against the damp wall and try to regain my breath

ABBY: (NARRATION) A wet wall means there is a water source somewhere. I’ll just wait out this lunatic and head back down the mountain. My eyes droop as my adrenaline expels from my frame. Just a quick rest. Then, I’m out of here.

ABBY:(NARRATION) I dream of obsidian arms holding me in their protective embrace. The limbs bind me with tight fervor and sweat beads across my forehead.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Wetness licks against my side and I squirm within my confines, the darkness an uncomfortable press upon my skin now.

Something slithers underneath me, shuffling my body but I’m wrapped too tightly to move. My breathing hitches. Backfiring and spluttering, my eyes fly open revealing more endless blackness. (SPEAKING) Ugh, what? Ugh (breathing heavily) Hello? Is anyone there? (NARRATION) In a panic, my hands ravage the area around me until my fingers kiss cool plastic.

ABBY: (NARRATION) I click my flashlight on in relief. What the hell woke me up? It felt like small tremors shifted me in my sleep. But I don’t think earthquakes are common here. Deep in the creases of my brain, a small voice yells to run. From what, I’m not sure. Is the man back? Did he find me? (SPEAKING) Get a hold of yourself Abby, get a hold of yourself.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Ignoring the warning, I rise, slinging my pack into place. It’s time to blow this popsicle stand. (SPEAKING) Where is the entrance? I swore I came through that way but…

ABBY: (NARRATION) I swivel left and right, but each direction looks the same. No hints or markers telling me the direction of my salvation or my destruction. I’m not a spelunker. Tight spaces always set my stomach falling to the floor.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) STOP!

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Ok, just relax and think. (NARRATION) I was too focused on running away to leave a trail for escape. I nibble on my lip in the dark for a long moment. After a lot of internal debate, I decide to head to the right. (SPEAKING) I’ll go for fifteen minutes and if I don’t reach the opening I’ll turn around.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Plan in hand, I move through the cave. The tunnel isn’t very large, but snug enough as goosebumps rise anxiously along my arms.

ABBY: (NARRATION) The rock constructing the walls is…odd. In place of jagged stones made of millenia, perfectly even grooves arch along the walls and overhead. They remind me of the ridges of whale bones.

However, these walls are raisin tinted. I halt my trek, leaning in close to inspect the cave wall.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Beads of moisture dribble down its face. I wipe my hand across the material expecting a slick texture.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Eww what the hell… (NARRATION) My hand comes away sticky. The residue glues to my skin and begins to burn.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Ah! Fuck! Fuck that’s hot.

ABBY: (NARRATION) My cries echo down the long tunnel…and are answered by an ancient baritone. The space undulates around me, renewing my fearful cries.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) AHH!!

ABBY: (NARRATION) Hot sulfuric air blasts me off my feet, knocking the wind from my lungs as I land with a hard wet thud. The oiled floor creeps through my clothes searing any flesh it comes in contact with.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Ahh!! Fuck, fuck! Oh god, that burns. (NARRATION) Molten pain digs into my skin and in a crazed state I pull and yank at my clothes attempting to remove them. (SPEAKING) Oh god! Oh god, get it off! Ahhh!!!!

ABBY: (NARRATION) The material adheres to my skin and feels as if I’m ripping a thousand bandaids off all at once.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Each tug removes another layer of skin.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) God dammit! I need to get the hell out of here. Where the hell am I?

ABBY: (NARRATION) As if the universe hears my questions, another thunderous bellow reverbates around me. Eye watering fumes leech my retinas of moisture as the cave jerks again.

ABBY: (NARRATION) My flashlight rolls across the floor granting me jagged snippets of the surrounding space.

ABBY: (NARRATION) The flashlight bumps against a rock, kicking the light upward. My mind blanks as the beam illuminates an object hanging from the ceiling.

ABBY: (NARRATION) It swings precariously back and forth, its bulbous head mocking me into silence.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Fuck! Ahhhh! (NARRATION) My skin wails as more acidic ichor coats it, but my eyes don’t stray from the monstrous uvula dangling above me. (SPEAKING) What type of fucking cave is this?

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Ugh! What the…(NARRATION) As I fall to the ground, I realize too late that the floor is not a floor, but a charred tongue.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Pustulant boils press against my hands as the tongue wriggles beneath me, the action sending me into flight.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Breathing heavily (NARRATION ) I run for my life, for the second time. (SPEAKING) This can’t be real. This isn’t possible. (NARRATION) My foot slams into a blistering mound and it erupts.

ABBY: (NARRATION) Tacky plasma splatters against my hiking boots and socks and immediately begins to erode my shoe.

ABBY: (NARRATION) I pump my arms faster, ignoring the pain of fibers melting into my now exposed flesh.

ABBY: (NARRATION) The tongued floor billows faltering my steps, but I do my best to remain upright. Moonlight creeps into view. (SPEAKING) Come on, come on just a bit more. Keep running Abby! You can do this. You can get out of this thing. (NARRATION) But I’m not fast enough.

Serrated teeth jut out in front of me, the same ones I passed early. I see them for what they are now. It happens before my foot crests the opening, my mouth opening with a readied scream. (SPEAKING) Oh god, oh no. AHHHH!!!

ABBY: (NARRATION) The mouth of the cave closes around my ankle severing my right foot from my body.

ABBY: (SPEAKING) Ahh!! Fuck!!! (NARRATION) The rest of me slams into the closed mouth, my arm catching on the jagged edges of teeth.

ABBY: (NARRATION) As I fall to the floor, swatches of tissue unravel from my limb. Shock riddles my frame as I bleed from my wounds. With a final push, the tongue beneath me bows.

ABBY: The tongue then flicks me into the air.

ABBY: (NARRATION) For a suspended moment, I think to myself-the old man was right. The woods aren’t safe.

MR. GRAVES: Namaste. Ah, isn’t that better. You’ve let go of the negative energy that is weighing you down and you're ready to take on the world. Embrace this moment, because it could be your last. I wish Abby had taken my course before embarking on her trip, I could have prepared her for all the grizzly sites. Well, she never was one to see the forest through the trees. (LAUGHS) Join us for more self help tips and light nature walks next time on, “Your Horror Show”